


If He Be Worthy

by MagpieMorality



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fill for a prompt, Post: Winter Soldier, Pre Ultron I feel?, So they have to ask for help, Steve found Bucky a while ago and has been helping him recover in his apt, That I really couldn't help but fill so here it is, by english I mean british, mmm tea, on tumblr, right so, tadaaaaa, then some Bad Guys TM broke the apartment, warning for potential english spellings...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-04-20 03:00:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4770953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagpieMorality/pseuds/MagpieMorality
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quick-fill for a prompt I can't find (sorry!) about what if Bucky was able to lift Mjolnir, and while the Avengers were arguing about trusting him he kind of just... did?</p><p>This was a sort of thank you to Brenda for all her awesome fic, and her awesome encouragement/enabling in getting me to put it on here! </p><p>Please bear with if the formatting is kooky...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Brenda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brenda/gifts).



Steve scrubbed at his face, feeling the ache right at the centre of his forehead growing with every passing twitch of lips and faint tut.

 

“Just for a few nights. I’ll stay with him the whole time. You can lock us in if you need to-”

 

“I think we all know he could get himself out if he wanted to, locks or no.” Clint muttered, entirely too clearly to be accidental. Steve shot him a glare but the group around him were nodding again. Stepping forwards, Natasha looked at him seriously, glancing quickly over his shoulder to where the only silent figure in the room was tucked right back against a wall by the door.

 

“He needs care and supervision, and the best place for that isn’t here.”

 

“It’s in jail, I know.” Natasha’s irritated look, and how obvious she made it, either demonstrated how much she now trusted him or how much this conversation was frustrating her. He couldn’t help it though; Steve’s priority would always be Bucky, and suggesting he cart him off to some ‘secure facility’ was definitely _not_ in his best interests.

 

“Seriously Cap, just listen for a minute okay?” Tony had stopped his quiet debate with Bruce and was standing up again, almost reaching out for some kind of hand-on-his-shoulder gesture that he rethought after seeing Steve’s face. “If he hurts someone it’ll hurt him, won’t it?”

 

“He’s not gonna hurt anybody! We’ve been alone in my apartment for _weeks_ now, Tony, Nat- all of you. I’m telling you he’s almost back; you can trust him.”

 

“I apologise for my late arrival.” The faint humming preceding the voice was explained as Thor strode through the floor, hammer placed on a table as he passed and joined the little crowd of discussion. Steve wasn’t sure what he thought he was late for, but no one else seems surprised the god showed up. He frowned.

 

“No problem, I only just contacted you anyway.” Tony shrugged, and Steve’s internal bubbling pot of patience rattles and shatters.

 

“You thought you’d need _Thor_ for backup?! You honestly thought I’d bring him here if I thought he’d hurt anyone?! I know exactly how much it hurts him Tony because I’ve been hearing him scream every night for a month and you honestly believe I could-”

 

“Hey stop yelling at me Rogers, you’re just lucky I didn’t bring anyone in to neutralise him straight away when you showed up. You should be thanking me!”

 

“Tony shut up, Steve- come on man, you know he’s dangerous.”

 

“Not you too Sam!”

 

“This is ridiculous- even Nat had to stay in solitary when she first got out-”

 

“If I may interrupt.” Thor’s voice was no louder than any of theirs, unusually for him, but something in the air crackled when he spoke and they’re all listening before they realise. “I believe I was asked here for protection, but if you would have it I should like to offer my own opinion of Sergeant Barnes’ condition.” Steve sighed deeply, shoulders slumping and rubbing that painful spot now it felt more like a drill into his brain than just an old bruise.

 

“Of course Thor. I’m pretty sure I know what the outcome is gonna be but go ahead.” He said wearily, looking down at the floor. He didn’t want to see the false sympathy on his teammates’ faces, nor could he face looking at Bucky where he tried to hide as they decided his worth for him.

 

“Sergeant Barnes is no danger to anyone other than those who have wronged him.” Is what came after a pause, and Steve looked up in surprise to find none of them looking at him, or Thor. Every single face was directed towards the table, where-

 

“Bucky.” Steve’s voice was so quiet it was unlikely any of the unenhanced Avengers could hear him, but the dark-haired man stood quietly examining Mjolnir looked up at his name.

 

He froze at the attention, hand slowly lowering the hammer back down to the table and backing away with a vaguely panicked expression. “I didn’t mean to…” Steve thought he probably didn’t know what he was apologising for, confirmed when Bucky looked at him with pleading eyes.

 

“It’s okay Buck.” He smiled, feeling the silence around him change from tense and shocked, to awed and curious. “I think we’ve got some beds to set up on my old floor. You coming?”

 

Bucky nodded and headed quickly for the door, glancing back at the stunned superheroes with a shy blush before vanishing. Steve looked at his friends but none of them seemed ready to say anything. He exchanged a soft smile with Thor and nodded at the rest, missing Tony’s shrug and Clint’s pout as he left to follow his best friend, like he always had and always would.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5+1 
> 
> 5 people who changed their mind about Bucky Barnes after the 'Hammer Incident' and one whose mind was already made up. 
> 
> This is really just an excuse to show some interaction between the Avengers folks after Bucky picked up the hammer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two because it just sort of happened? I got a lovely comment (technically two!) that burst this back into life so I'm writing this because of you, Daily. Enjoy! 
> 
> Oh yes and Civil War noncompliant. Age of Ultron noncompliant too, for that matter!

_Clint.5_

 

 

The hammer starts showing up places. Everywhere Bucky is quietly curled up or silently padding through it just appears, and he can’t figure it out at first. Thor isn’t sneaky like this, not at all, and it’s quite clearly- he did use to be a spy- someone wanting him to lift it again. He skirts it warily the first couple of times but by the sixth, when it’s actually in the cupboard next to the twinkies he’s secretly requested Jarvis stock for them; that’s when he finally lifts it. 

 

It’s heavy, the hammer, not light as a feather like Thor makes it seem. He has to yank it down a little and place it carefully on the side, running his finger over the markings with a small smile as the metal hums quietly and completely missing the tiny camera that dangles down from the air vent overhead and is taking video footage of the encounter. 

 

The next time he lifts it is when he’s coming into the common area and everyone’s watching something on the massive screen Stark had added to the room. Bucky likes a certain plush corner between two armchairs where he can squeeze in and be mostly hidden but still included, safe from looks and conversation. Only this time as he tries to hurry into position before they wander back in from the kitchen, the hammer is in the way. He growls softly and moves it aside, only to hear a soft ‘Aha!’ from none other than the Avengers’ resident archer and sneak. That explains it, then. He must have recruited Thor into his plan. 

 

Bucky flushes and hides, but he is actually very pleased by this realisation; with the attention and interest behind the ruse. He doesn’t know what to do with it so he just, every once in awhile, tugs on Thor’s cape and takes the hammer from him while Clint is nearby to Clint’s great delight. Soon enough that turns into being used for pranks like placing it on top of necessary objects and waiting to hear yells of frustration from various Avengers, and then it’s only a matter of time before the two of them are crawling in the air vents together, thick as thieves even if they don't talk very much. They don't need to- the language of mischief is loud enough.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

_ Natasha.4 _

 

 

She watches him. It’s cool and assessing and she could do it more subtly so he wouldn’t notice, except that she wants him to know. She doesn’t trust him, that much is obvious, and Bucky spots her frowning at the hammer with her arms carefully folded more than once. Maybe she thinks it was a trick, but she’s not going to risk it being real and answering a question she really doesn’t want to answer by testing that theory, so she glares instead. 

 

Steve notices as well, after a while. Bucky is actually impressed that he notices at all, but then he starts to get annoyed because Steve’s response to Natasha’s- very reasonable actually- suspicion and distrust is to start snapping at her and getting overly defensive any time she looks Bucky’s way. Bucky stands it for a week, by which point Natasha has started giving Steve wounded looks when he growls at her and acting for all the world like a kicked puppy. It would be funny except for how his chest aches a little with the expression on her face, understanding it intrinsically. 

 

There seems to be no solution and even Clint and his fun games aren’t helping his mood much and he’s started avoiding Steve even and things seem to be backsliding badly, when he figures it out. He stalks up to Steve and hugs him tight when she’s there, watching, and the way they both melt into each other without hesitation makes her blink and look away. It also helps when he starts to scold Steve for his behaviour and points out all the reasons she’s right to be worried and why it’s very prudent and actually reassuring. 

 

Steve stops, after that, flushing with embarrassment. Natasha… doesn’t. But she does ease off, and he stops noticing after a while. 

 

When the knowing smiles start though, he notices those.

 

(What do they _mean_?!)

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

_ Sam.3 _

 

 

Sam Wilson is brilliant. He’s bright and clever and funny and kind and he listens, and Bucky notices he does this thing where he politely leaves and calls his family sometimes just to listen to them talk. He works out it only happens when Sam is overwhelmed, at which point Bucky wonders if he could emulate this response in some way, because overwhelmed is starting to become his default state of being. He starts venting to the hammer, sitting nearby and cradling it, something about the soft, low hum it gives out- that no one else but Thor can seem to hear- that is hugely comforting. He learns Sam’s careful ‘excuse me, I’m going to go hang out by myself for a while’ until it’s pitch perfect, almost inflection for inflection, and then he tries it out. 

 

The first few times he sort of mumbles and then escapes, leaving Clint and Bruce blinking in surprise and Steve squinting at him. The first time he tries it in front of Sam he flees before he can see the slow-spreading wide smile his imitation receives. He complains to the hammer that he’s clearly not very good at this, and somehow Sam must have been nearby and listening because there’s no way the hammer gave _itself_ stickynotes with little useful phrases for extricating himself from uncomfortable situations. One says ‘I don’t think I’d like to be touched right now’. Another says ‘I’m not sure how to react to that’. A third says ‘I don’t feel ready to talk about this’. Bucky learns them quickly, leaving them on the hammer to gather in a swarm of soft-yellow helpfulness and support, just as unwavering and sturdy as the metal they stick to. 

 

Sam is easy to observe, and when he first pauses as he walks by the hammer- set carefully on a stack of half-eaten pizza boxes to get back at Clint for somehow stealing one of his favourite bath bombs- and smiles at the notes still there but starting to look grubby from handling, Bucky hurries away, lips shivering into a smile of their own. 

 

The next time he falls asleep on the couch he wakes up to a stickynote cartoon of himself drooling in his sleep stuck to the metal arm. Sam grins when Bucky scowls at him. Weakly. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

_ Tony.2 _

 

 

Bucky doesn’t like Tony. It’s mutual, they both know, so they stay away from each other. When they’re forced into close quarters Bucky growls at Tony and Tony snipes at Steve to get a rise out of him and they circle the room with glares and posturing. Tony leaves frustrating objects that are like puzzles but take Bucky days to figure out- and he spends all his time focused on them too, not thinking about anything else at all- and in return Bucky leaves incredibly complex encryptions on notes about his arm around the man's lab and they annoy each other like that. 

 

When the arm twitches and heaves against his side one day, making him gasp, he’s surprised- but also not- to find out that Tony’s robots know exactly what to do to help. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

_ Bruce.1 _

 

 

There’s something intriguing about not being the most dangerous being in a room. And something even more intriguing about not being the quietest, either. It’s like the worse you can turn out to be, the more unobtrusive you get. This works out as an accurate theory- Natasha is next most quiet _and_ next most lethal, and the others sort of fall into the pattern as well. Bucky tails Banner around for the first few weeks after being allowed to stay in the tower, watching him from a distance and cataloguing everything. How he eats; how he moves; how he talks; how he interacts; how he smiles, when he smiles. There’s some kind of magic- not unlike Sam’s- that appeals hugely to the ex-assassin and Bruce is the one where _he_ approaches first, making the first move and sitting down in front of him as he meditates in the gym room. 

 

Bruce stays quiet but his mouth lifts, and he settles into an easier pose that Bucky haltingly copies, the calm wrapping around them both and settling into a comfortable blanket, much like the hammer-hum. He slips away with just a nod, returned by Bruce, when the older man (or is he the younger one?) opens his eyes and makes to stand up. 

 

They practice yoga together for a while before anyone catches them at it, and then Sam is sitting in on session with them, and then Pepper, and then Natasha tries to join in but finds she can’t relax herself for long enough and goes off to spar with Steve in the background instead. It’s a nice little group time; friendly and sociable, but there’s no touching and no speaking and no pressure at all. 

 

Bruce also introduces him to scented bath bombs and fancy conditioners, and Bucky starts wandering around smelling like a fruit bowl, covering his face with his long hair and inhaling deeply when he needs to ground himself. 

 

He favourite is the mango and lemon body wash that appeared in his shower one day. He’s still not sure who gave it to him. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

_ Thor+1 _

 

 

Bucky loves Thor. He really, really does. He loves his warm smile and warm hands and booming laugh, and the blond beard that reminds him of another loud, smiling, bewhiskered blond man who had also ruffled his hair in passing. He’s not sure who that was. 

 

Thor also comes with a cape, which is possibly the best thing Bucky has ever come across. That he remembers. He likes to steal it; wrapping it around him in his secret seats or on the couch or as he cooks food, closing his eyes and smiling. It feels like a hug, heavy and warm. He brings the hammer too, of course, and Bucky would never give that up. That was his one ticket at redemption after all, and it’s become a sort of friend in an odd but pleasant way. It hums when he’s near and the hums definitely change depending on if he’s sitting quietly or ranting to it or playing with it. Thor’s smiles change in the same way as he watches, never making Bucky feel exposed like Natasha’s do. Instead he offers toothy grins back, eliciting more of the hair ruffles- the only touch other than Steve’s that he can handle- and room-filling laughter. 

 

He loves Thor. Thor is safety and warmth and kindness and he understands in a very strange way and he doesn’t need silence because he knows what to say and he doesn’t need to leave periodically because he’s full of joy and a strange innocence enough to weather the storm of the others’ issues- Bucky’s own issues have just recently begun to be shared aloud, not just to the hammer as an intermediary but actually genuinely directly to the Asgardian. Thor is wonderful and good and Bucky thinks he’s probably going to go ask for an actual non-cloak hug one day soon. 

 

He’s quite looking forwards to it. 


End file.
